Thor (The Black Hornets MC Book 5) Read online

  Thank fuck, the group finally had some sense to downvote his ass.

  “Thor, you look after them. Liv, I’ll be back when I can. And Willow?” Colt asked.

  “What?” Willow asked.

  “Nice to meet you. Try not to kill my friend,” Colt said.

  “Hardly,” I grunted.

  Willow glared at me one last time, giving Olivia and Colt a moment to sneak a kiss. Then, Colt left, leaving Willow, myself, and Olivia behind. I walked over to the door and locked it, then stood off in the corner. Making myself a shadow. A piece of furniture. A looming figure that was out of sight and out of mind.

  Except Willow wouldn’t fucking stop staring at me.

  I was shocked at the small woman’s ability to fight. I didn’t want to admit it, but she had gotten the best of me there for a second. I’d never let her believe that. The only reason she had gotten the best of me was because I hadn’t come prepared to fight. I’d come prepared to be debriefed. Acclimated. To shake the hand of Olivia officially and get to know her surroundings. Colt had been caught off guard as well, which made me feel a little less like shit.

  But it wouldn’t happen again. This small rodent woman, with massive eyes and a turned-up nose, wouldn’t get the best of me again.

  “We need to get you into a new place,” Willow said as she turned to Olivia.

  “This place is fine,” Olivia said.

  “No, it’s not. Despite the fact that we can’t lock it down and I have no security system to get into in order to keep watch on who comes and goes, we don’t have a bed for the mountain man in the corner,” Willow said.

  I rubbed my hand along my face. It hadn’t been too long since I had shaved.

  At least my stubble was groomed.

  “Willow, it’s late. And I really just want to—”

  “A new place is a good idea,” I said.

  Willow slowly panned her eyes around, locking them with mine.

  “The mountain agrees, so we’re going. Pack up,” Willow said.

  Olivia grumbled and protested the entire way, but soon Willow was on her laptop typing at a thousand words a second. Her fingers flew at lightning speed, and I tried not to stare. I took back my words. Jace would hate her. Despise her. Glare at her.

  Because it was obvious she was better than him at hacking, too.

  “Okay, there’s a hotel on the outskirts of Redding called The Devil’s Palace. I know it sounds rough, but it’s not. It’s one of the nicer hotels in the area, great rooms, not completely shit on price, and I’m already in their security system. Doesn’t look like any suspicious figures are coming or going, and there’s one more hotel suite with two rooms and two bathrooms that has a massive king-size pull-out couch for Mountain Man over there,” Willow said.

  “Won’t need sleep,” I said.

  Olivia whipped her head over to me. “Why not?”

  I shrugged. “Don’t sleep much.”

  Willow snickered. “Well, I got it booked anyway. For an entire month. I’ll put the payment on my credit card, Liv, and you can pay me as you can.”

  “Willow, this is all too—”

  Willow shot Olivia a look and she shut up. I quirked an eyebrow, wondering what the history was between these two. The two girls got to packing. Well, Olivia got to packing. Willow simply slipped her laptop back into a case and grabbed her things. She looked at me before coming to stand by the door. Like she was reminding herself I was there. Clocking my station in case she needed me for something.

  Or needed to defend herself against something.

  “I won’t hurt you,” I said.

  And for the first time, I caught sight of Willow’s tell. A flaring of her nostrils as she tried to bury her emotions. She thought I was going to hurt her.

  She didn’t have to worry about that.

  I helped the girls down to Olivia’s car, then stayed behind them on the ride to the hotel. I kept an eye out for anything suspicious. Anything that looked as if we were being followed or tracked in some way. We pulled into the hotel and I parked my bike in the shadows. I activated the GPS software on it in case something happened to it. A protective measure Jace had put on all our bikes a few years back after shit went down with Brynn, Dean’s daughter. I walked in with the girls and Willow got us all hotel keys. Then, we made our way up to the hotel suite.

  It was actually pretty nice.

  We walked into the room and there was a small kitchenette to our left. In front of us was some living room furniture. A sectional pull-out couch, a love sofa, and a rocker recliner. To my right was one bedroom, with a bathroom attached on the inside. To my left, another bedroom with a bathroom to the side of it. Just a quick few steps in order to get to it from the bedroom.

  Then, there was a massive sliding glass door that led out onto a balcony.

  I quickly moved toward it in order to make sure it was locked, then pulled the blinds.

  “Good boy,” Willow murmured.

  I ignored her quip and watched as Olivia dragged her things over to the bedroom to the left. She walked into her room without a second thought and I followed her in. She looked at me with a look I couldn’t decipher as I checked her windows and pulled her blinds. I went into her bathroom to make sure there were no windows to secure, then I made my way back out.

  Olivia closed and locked her bedroom door, leaving Willow and myself alone.

  “She doesn’t like it when people override her,” Willow said.

  I nodded my head as I stood with my back against the wall.

  I watched the little rat woman toss her things into the other bedroom. Then, she walked over to the small kitchen table in the corner to my left and pulled out her laptop. She began typing away, and I watched over her shoulder as lines of code flew across the screen. The logo for the hotel appeared and a black screen with way too much going on. Login screens and “access granted” signs popped up. Then, I watched as multiple little screens dotted her laptop screen.

  She had hacked the hotel’s security system with their own fucking internet in minutes.

  “I know how she feels, you know,” Willow said.

  I furrowed my brow as she continued typing across her keyboard.

  “I used to be with the FBI. Tacked onto her unit, actually. I was a field operative, but my specialty was in computers. Hacking. I traveled with her unit and set up in police stations across the country in order to do what I do best,” she said.

  She never turned to face me, and my eyes never left her laptop screen. But I’d be damned if I wasn’t listening.

  I took in every word she had to say.

  “I took on a project by myself. I mean, not really by myself. We were tracking a mob boss by the name of Sleek. Trying to take him down any way we could. The only in we supposedly had was his money laundering scheme. But no one could find the digital paper trail we knew he had to have been leaving behind,” she said.

  Her fingers paused, and I watched them tremble for a split second before she kept typing away.

  “Well, I found it. If you were wondering. And within hours of finding it, I came home to find him sitting on my couch. In the dark. Shining his gun.”

  I clenched my fists at my side.

  “Because I’d done the research on my own time, the FBI didn’t help me. I turned over the information, and they protected me until the case was wrapped up. You know, posting a guard outside my apartment complex and such. But after that, there was nothing. No support. No guidance. Nothing outside of what they had to do. I knew I was being watched and I knew I was being followed, but the only thing they told me was that because I’d happened upon that information in my spare time and because Sleek had been arrested, I was safe. There was nothing they needed to do.”

  She whispered “yes” under her breath before slamming her finger into a button.

  “Liv came and stayed with me. She stayed for weeks on end. Taught me how to fight. Directed me to a great trainer that could help me hone my skills so I’d feel safe. She
referred me to a shooting instructor who worked with me on my aim and to a personal trainer who helped me get stronger. So I’d feel safe by myself again.”

  She leaned back into her chair, folding her arms over her chest.

  “I don’t know you. So, I don’t trust you. And my instinct is to keep an eye on you until I know I don’t have to. When you came through that door, I knew for certain Liv was in trouble. And I’ll be damned if anything is going to happen to her.”

  I watched her stand up, then she turned and looked at me. Pierced my stare directly with her beautiful gray eyes. I saw her strength. I saw her vulnerability. And I saw how strong she still stood after all she had been through. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. She walked up to me, her neck craning back to keep my eyes in view. I kept my gaze unwavering. My posture tall. But inside, my gut rolled. My stomach bounced around.

  I was surprised at her attitude change toward me. But even more taken aback by how intrigued I was with her.

  “I still don’t think we need you,” Willow said.

  I grinned slowly at her statement.

  “But, if it makes Liv feel better, then I’m up for it,” she said.

  It was cute that she thought she had a choice.

  My phone vibrated against my hip and Willow walked back to her laptop. She scooped it up and unplugged it, then headed straight to her room. The door closed and I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding, then I slipped my phone out of my pocket and picked it up.

  “Yeah?” I asked.

  “It’s Colt.”

  “Hey.”

  “Dean purchased the safehouse anyway.”

  I furrowed my brow. “What?”

  “Yeah. Despite the club voting him down unanimously, he purchased the safehouse for Liv anyway. He’s still wanting to put her there,” Colt said.

  “Given any thought to what Duke’s asked you?”

  There was a pause on the other end of the line before Colt sighed.

  “I haven’t. But I might have to soon. Liv isn’t going to that damn safehouse. We’d have the whole government coming down on our heads looking for her,” he said.

  My eyes peered around the corner, staring at Olivia’s locked bedroom door.

  “Yep,” I said.

  “You got any fresh ideas as to what to do with Dean? Because all of us are standing here at a loss,” Colt said.

  I bit down onto my lower lip, contemplating what our next move should be.

  “For now, I keep the girl’s safe. You know what has to happen to vote in another sitting president. You let me know when that vote takes place,” I said.

  “So, you think the vote should happen,” Colt said.

  “I think it’s bullshit we haven’t taken it already.”

  And I could have sworn I heard someone in the background say, “damn straight.”

  Chapter 5

  Willow

  Five days. I’d been in town five days and being cooped up in this hotel was really starting to get to me. Thor loomed. And I mean, he fucking loomed. In every room Liv and myself went into, he was there. Standing. Staring. Calculating. And while we had gotten to know one another a little bit, I was still annoyed at his presence. Liv told me to give him a chance. To try and make the best of things while I kept an eye on the hotel security system. And when I offered up something about myself, all I got were grunts.

  Or one-worded answers.

  But never a rebuttal to what I offered up.

  Thor was a tank. A practical vault of information he wouldn’t spew up. Him protecting us made me feel like we were weak. And if there was one word to describe Liv and myself, it was certainly not weak. Liv was the strongest woman I knew. Both physically and emotionally. I had her on the mental aspect. I always made sure to have my mind right. Liv had her moments when she couldn’t tolerate keeping it in any longer, and that was where I came in. I always kept her mentally grounded and she always helped keep me physically grounded.

  There was no room or need for Thor.

  I hated looking at that man. Just a simple reminder that some bullshit motorcycle thugs in town thought we were some weak little things made me fume.

  “Everything look good?” Thor asked.

  I typed away at my laptop, ignoring his question.

  “Willow?”

  I ground my teeth together at the sound of my name coming from his lips. Not because I didn’t like the way it sounded, but because it didn’t bother me.

  And I wasn’t sure why, given how annoying him being there in that hotel was.

  “You not looking at the cameras?” Thor asked.

  “I am, and if there’s anything to report, I will,” I said.

  I stared at the cameras, clocking individuals that came in and out. I watched people who checked in days ago check back out. I ran their identities against the logs in the hotel’s system I’d been able to pull up. Making sure things matched up. That room numbers fit where people came and went from. Anything that looked suspicious, I logged and did research on during the night since I never slept much.

  Which was another thing about Thor.

  When Liv slept, all he did was loom over me.

  After the threat against me—after Sleek was found in my apartment—Liv helped me make myself into the woman I had become. Self-defense classes. Therapy. Strength training. The whole nine yards. The FBI practically abandoned the issue once Sleek had been arrested. They told me I could go back to my job. Like nothing had ever happened. Like someone hadn’t held their gun up to my face and demanded the information I had found. I felt defenseless in that moment. Unable to do anything if it didn’t require my fingers against the keyboard of a laptop.

  I vowed never to feel like that ever again. That defenseless. That afraid. That used and left behind.

  I was strong. Liv was stronger. And I wanted Colt and Thor to see that.

  Especially since she was shacking up with Colt.

  Other than Liv going to and from work, we were in that hotel. Ordering in food. Staying in our rooms. Staying silent, with some sort of worry hanging over our heads. Thor accompanied Liv to work, then came back and watched over me. Hah! Such bullshit. I kept telling the massive man that assignment wasn’t Liv’s best friend. It was simply Liv. He never responded to any of those quips, though. He never left me in a room by myself.

  The only time I ever got any privacy was when I stepped into the bathroom.

  I had arrived on a Monday. Monday night, to be exact. And now, it was Friday afternoon. My mind raced. I listened out for every sound and clocked it like a hawk. I walked up and down the hallways. I checked all the windows. I felt Thor watching me. I found him grinning at one point. Of course, when I asked him what was so funny, all he did was clam up. I hated that about him. How he never talked. I saw his mind spinning behind his eyes, but he never let me in on anything. It felt like he was keeping a secret. Like there was something he knew that we didn’t. Something he knew that I didn’t.

  I really hated that shit.

  I sat on the couch. I pissed in the bathroom. I tried to lay down and take a nap. Hell, I even ran myself a damn bubble bath and cleaned myself up. I never took baths, but the massive tub called to me. The jets felt nice against my skin. They even felt nice against my pussy. It was a nice stress relief, and I made sure to give Thor a little show. If he was standing outside that fucking bathroom door, I wanted him to hear me moan. Listen to the water slosh around as I writhed. I wanted him to know exactly what he was intruding on and make that hulking man blush.

  Something I finally succeeded on when I walked out with nothing but a towel around me.

  “Enjoy the eavesdropping?” I asked.

  I peeked back at him and found his stare locked to the wall. But, the flush in his cheeks told me everything I needed to know. And so did that massive bulge in his pants. I locked my eyes with it. I wanted him to know how exposed he was. I wanted him to know I saw what he felt. If he was going to intrude on every single part of m
y life because he thought some flimsy little girls needed protection, then he was going to know every single routine of my world.

  Including how I relieved stress.

  “What a day,” Liv sighed.

  She walked through the door with Thor hot on her heels.

  “Nice to see you back in one piece,” I said.

  “There’s been no developments at work. Diego’s still in jail being processed. His court date will be set tomorrow. And if we’re lucky, he’ll be in front of a judge in three or so weeks,” she said.

  “Good. That’s good. In the meantime, it’s officially the weekend. Are you working this weekend at all?”

  “Nope. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about the police department here, it’s that no one works on weekends unless we have to.”

  “Good. Then, we’re going out.”

  “No.”

  My eyes slowly panned over to the shadow of a man standing against the wall.

  “What?” I asked.

  “No going out,” Thor said.

  “Why not?” Liv said.

  “Not safe. Can’t lock a place down,” Thor said.

  “That’s why she’s got me. I’ll take care of her,” I said.

  “No,” Thor said.

  “It’s okay. He’s simply a precaution. We’re going out,” I said.

  “Can’t let you do that,” Thor said.

  “Well, tough titties. Because you don’t control us,” I said.

  Thor grinned. Like I had made some sort of funny joke. I walked over to Liv and took her hand, then pulled her over into a corner. I looked over her shoulder at Thor, who had his eyes locked on us. He clasped his hands in front of him, ready to pounce the second we attempted to walk out that door.

  “I know you’re going stir crazy if I am,” I said.

  “I mean, at least I’m getting out to work,” Liv said.

  “Olivia, this is insane. We’re two strong, capable women who have been trained by the best. We can go out for a night and be fine.”

  “Thor’s been tasked to watch over us as a favor to Colt. He isn’t going to budge.”